Sap-gathering tank



(No Motlel) W E BURT SAP GATHERING TANK. 'No. 559,358. Patented May 5 1896.

I 1 82 151- WtlZI/amEB ur ANDREW B.GRIHAM mmo-uniumsmnsrmac,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAP-GATHERING TANK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 559,358, dated May 5, 1896.

Application filed February 29, 1896. Serial No. 581,380. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. BURT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Enosburg Falls, in the county of Franklin and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Sap-Gathering Tank, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in tanks for collecting sap, and has for its object to prevent slopping over of the sap when jostling the tank, as when going over rough ground and up and down grades.

Other objects and advantages are contemplated and will appear as the nature of the invention is understood, and to this end reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings and the following description.

The improvement is susceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof, and to a full disclosure of the invention an adaptation thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tank embodying the essence of this invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the means for holding the delivery-tube in an upright position and the cover upon the strainer.

Corresponding and like parts are designated in the following description and all the figures of the accompanying drawings by similar reference-characters.

The tank 1 is constructed of sheet metal and is essentially oblong in form, its sides being straight and parallel and the ends rounding. Covers 2 extend over the end portions of the tank and close the same for about one-fourth the distance, leaving the middle port-ion of the tank open or uncovered. A plate or head 3 is located a short distance below the top edge of the tank and is secured at its edges to the sides thereof, and is depressed at a middle point in its length, so as to drain the sap to a central point. This plate or head is straight between its edges, but inclines upwardly toward its ends from an intermediate point to direct the sap to the lowest point. A cylinder 4 is removably supto steady and fix the position of the latter.'

This ring is perforated or notched in its lower edge to provide for the escape of the sap. A screen 6 is fitted in the upper end of the cylinder 4 and serves to strain the sap as the latter enters the tank.

The cylinder 4 and the screen 6 form in of feet a strainer for purifying and removing foreign matter from the sap as the latter is received into the tank. A cover '7 closes the cylinder 4 and is held in place by friction in the ordinary way, or positive means may be employed, such as a rod or bar 8, to extend over the cover and have its ends engaged beneath handles 9, located at the sides of the tank and above the plate or head 3.. This rod or bar 8, being slightly elastic, is adapted to have its ends depressed and engaged beneath the handles 9 in the manner set forth and illustrated.

A nipple 10 is provided on one side of the tank at a middle point and close to the bottom, and a delivery-tube 11 has connection therewith by a short length of hose-pipe 12, so that the delivery-tube can be turned into a vertical or upright position, as shown, when the tank is filling or receiving sap. A catch 13, located at the top edge of the tank and directly above the nipple 10, engages with the free end of the delivery-tube and holds the latter in an upright position and is of an inverted-U shape, the inner member 14 being the longer and operating in a sleeve 15, attached to the inner side of the tank, and the lower end of the said member 14 being bent at right angles, as shown at 16, to limit the upward movement of the said catch and to pass beneath the adjacent end of the rod 8, whereby the catch is held at its lowest position and in engagement with the end of the tube 11. This catch 13 is slidably mounted in the sleeve 15 and straddles the upper end of a side of the tank and is moved upward,

so that its outer member can clear the end of the tube 11 when the latter is turned into an upright position, whereby upon depressing the said catch its outer member or leg will enter the open end of the said tube and hold the latter in an upright position, substantially as shown.

By having the covers 2 extend inward from the ends of the tank about one-fourth the length of the latter the sap will not slop over the ends of the tank when the latter is passing over rough ground or up and down grade, or when pouring the sap upon the plate or head 3. The synclinal form of the plate or head 3 directs the sap to the lowest point or valley and into the strainer and cylinder, which remove foreign matter, and from which cylinder the sap escapes into the tank, and after the latter is sufficiently filled the cover '7 is placed in position and the tank transported to a place of discharge and drained of its contents by means of the delivery-tube 11.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new is- 1. A sap-gathering tank oblong in form and having its top side closed at its ends by covers which extend inward for a short distance, a plate or head located a short distance below the plane of the top edge of the tank and entirely covering the same, and inclining from an intermediate point in its length toward its ends in an upward direction, and a perforated cylinder located at the central or depressed part of the said plate or head, substantially as set forth.

2. A sap-gatherin g tank oblong in form and having its top closed at its ends by covers which extend inward for a short distance, a plate or head located a short distance below the top edge of the tank and extending over the said tank, and inclining upwardly toward its ends from an intermediate point, and having an opening at its middle or lowest point, a cylinder reaching from the plate or head to the bottom, a strainer fitted in the said cylinder, and a ring attached to the bottom of the tank in vertical alinement with the open ing in the said plate or head and receiving the lower end of the cylinder, substantially as set forth for the purpose described.

3. In combination, a sap-gathering tank having handles on its inner side at diametrically-opposite points, a synclinal plate or head extending over the tank and located a short distance below the plane of its top edge, a cylinder removably fitted in an opening at the middle or lowest point of the said plate or head, a cover for closing the said cylinder, and a rod or bar for securing the said cover and cylinder against accidental displacement and adapted to have its ends engaged with the said handles, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM E. BURT. Witnesses:

NATHAN A. GILBERT, CHARLES H. STETsoN. 

